Trapped Between Worlds
by NeonArt1
Summary: Alternate ending to Sock Opera, Contains spoilers to Journal 3: It was all so sudden... Dipper was, just like that; gone. Mabel was left alone without her twin. Until she picks up a note that makes her realize everything. Her brother was still "alive", trapped between worlds in the mindscape, practically a ghost. She needs get Dipper back...before it's too late. ON HIATUS
1. Chapter 1

**Hello Fallers! (For those of you who follow me,** **I'm sorry this isn't an update on Find Me... It's just kinda... on hold.) So this is my first Gravity Fall Fanfic... Ive done some for How To Train Your Dragon before, but this idea popped into my head... so here we go! I'm not really sure what do with this story, so if you guys have some ideas that would be awesome! Also, this contains spoilers from Sock Opera episode, and Journal 3, so if you haven't seen any of those... i suggest you do because they're great!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Gravity Falls... at all. So yeah...**

 **(warning... contains "suicide", just in case)**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

I never even saw it coming... I was so caught up in this stupid puppet show I didn't even notice. I stood frozen; time had slowed down as I witnessed it happen. As he let his body lean forward and his feet slip off the railing, as gravity took hold of him, and as his body slammed into the ground below. I remember letting out a blood-curdling scream, sprinting to him and skidding on my knees next to his body. Everything around me didn't exist; it was just he and I. A thousand chills ran down my spine as I watched an exaggerated grin spread across my brother's face, an earsplitting laugh erupting out of his mouth and insanity in his eyes. Fear bubbled in my gut as I watched him writhe in pain along with the contrasting laughter; I had no words. I could only watch. Watch as he twitched then slowly fall limp. Watch as he was lifted onto a stretcher and the two white doors slammed shut. And watched as the ambulance drove away and the sirens grew quiet. I stood in silence.

Blood…blood on my hands…blood in the dirt. There was so much...

The days went by so slow. Stan had hidden himself away somewhere, every time I saw him he looked worse than the last. Alcohol on his breath and bloodshot eyes, he never spoke to me. I was too afraid to raise my voice and ask how he was or what he was doing. It was filled with only an awkward silence between us.

The attic was cold and empty without Dipper, his side of the room the same as it was before he... left. I never slept; I only stared at the ceiling and pretended I was just dreaming. I wanted to believe it was nothing but my imagination. But it was never true, reality won and I realized he was gone.

Mom and Dad had come up when they heard the news. They cried. We hugged. I was going back home in a couple of days, although what's home without your best friend? Without the person you've spent every waking moment with? The person you did everything with? Nothing. That's what. Mom and Dad barely spoke too, whenever they did it was brief, Mom cried a lot. Every time I saw her she had tears streaming down her face, I could hear her sobbing in other rooms. Dad pretended to stay strong, to be the optimist, to see a better future. But I could see he was in just as much pain as the rest of us.

I had gone numb to every emotion. I had cried everything away and now I was just void of feelings. My brightly colored sweaters just made me sad, my sticker collection mocked me, Waddles tried his best to make me smile, but my smiles were only for show. Sometimes it felt like Dipper was still there, but I always brushed it off as my imagination messing with my head. It was so, so quiet.

The Mystery Shack was closed ever since the incident. Soos and Wendy barely came by; when they did it was to check on Grunkle Stan or me. But it was almost pointless, a kind gesture, but pointless. I just think they really don't know how to react, but in reality, do any of us? It was so shocking. No one saw it coming, not even speculated that something was up. Sure I could tell he was sleep deprived and stressed... but this? That wasn't the Dipper I knew. He would never do something so extreme. We would tell each other everything... at least I thought we did, maybe this was the one secret he kept? No... There had to be a better explanation.

I watched as Mom and Dad packed all of our things into the car, Dipper's stuff packed up in boxes and sealed with tape, mine just in my regular suitcases. I sat on the porch of the Shack as tears slowly rolled down my cheeks, I felt a hand placed on my shoulder, I looked up and saw Grunkle Stan towering over me. His face devoid of emotion but his eyes saying a million words. He still smelled of alcohol as he sat down next to me, but I still leaned my head against him. For the first time in what felt like ages, I heard his gravely voice.

"...How are you?" He said hesitantly, avoiding eye contact and focusing on the trees.

I wiped away a tear with my hand and answered with a brief, "Fine..."

"I highly doubt that," he blankly stated. Of course it was a stupid thing to say, to say one was "fine" after something like that was always a lie.

"I... I don't know. I don't know how to think anymore, my thoughts are a scattered mess. I just wish everything were back to normal... I wish I had Dipper back. I wish I had my best friend back..." I began to cry harder and felt Grunkle Stan's arm wrap around me as my weak cries turned into sobs. I hadn't cried so hard since that day, the emotions all bottled up inside spilling out at once. "Grunkle Stan... why did this happen?" I whimpered after I regained my breath.

"I don't know, Mabel... I wish I knew, but I just... don't. I'm sorry,"

"You don't have to be sorry, Grunkle Stan..." I paused for a second as I thought about things, "Where did you go?"

"Huh...?"

"Where did you go? After that day it was like you just... disappeared," I asked again.

"Oh... I just stayed away... I had to think and spend time with myself... that's all." He told me, in my gut I felt like there was more, but I didn't have the energy to pester him into saying any more.

"I needed you..." I whispered, hoping he didn't hear but he did.

"I'm sorry Mabel... sorry I left you when you needed someone most. It was stupid of me..." I could hear his voice crack as he spoke; I just laid my head in his lap and watched the wind play with the trees.

A car pulled up, it was black with a long back end… the hearse, with my brother in a wooden box in the back ready to be brought back to Piedmont and be buried in the ground for the rest of time. I wasn't ready. I wasn't ready to go back, it just didn't feel right. Something else was nagging at my brain telling me I needed to stay. Like I was missing something.

Before I got into the car a memory sparked in my head, I remember leaving something in Stan's car. I asked to get in his car and search for the thing I had lost; it was one of my headbands that I had taken off on a ride back to the Mystery Shack. But as I searched along the seats and the floor of the car something caught my eye, something white, and something paper. Curiosity got the best of me and I unfolded it, my heart stopped as I read the letters scribbled on the paper in black ink. It read:

"Note to self: Possessing people is hilarious! To think of all the sensations I've been missing out on—burning, stabbing, drowning. It's like a buffet tray of fun! Once I destroy that journal, I'll enjoy giving this body its grand finale— by throwing it off the water tower! Best of all, people will just think Pine Tree lost his mind, and his mental form will wander in the Mindscape forever. Want to join him, Shooting Star?"

I had frozen in place as I read the note over and over again, not really believing what I was reading. Had Bill really done this? Was he the one who killed Dipper—who murdered him? My heart began to race; I clenched the note in a tight fist and sprinted back to Stan. I skidded to a halt as a realization hit, something he said in the note, "... and his mental form will be left to wander in the mindscape forever..." Dipper was still out there! He was stuck in the "mindscape", whatever that meant! And then more realization hit, Bill wouldn't have killed Dipper if he hadn't destroyed the Journal... so the Journal must have been burned, or torn up, or shredded, or whatever... I had no way of knowing what to do. I wasn't clever like Dipper was, he was the one who dealt with possession, and ghosts, and stuff, not me!

Lost in thought I didn't even notice Grunkle Stan and my parents standing in front of me, concerned looks on their faces as they brought me back to reality. Without skipping a beat I grabbed Grunkle Stan,

"Dipper is still out there!" I exclaimed as I started to drag him away.

"WHAT!?" He asked with obvious confusion.

"Yes! He's stuck in the mindscape because Bill possessed and killed him and now he's trapped there because he doesn't have his body and we need to get him back somehow before I leave and loose him forever!" I said at a thousand miles per hour without taking a breath. Both Stan and my parents gave me blank looks.

"Whoa whoa... slow down, Mabel! Could you repeat that, a little slower this time?" Stan had yanked me to a stop and I was forced to explain.

"It's Bill... he possessed Dipper, destroyed the Journal... then threw him off the water tower..." I told him, he still had a look of confusion as he processed my words. I handed him the crumpled up note and as he read it his eyes grew wide, "we have to save him, Grunkle Stan..." I said delicately after he had finished reading it.

"Alright... I have an idea."

* * *

"Bill! Stop this! Don't do it!" I screamed, he stood, possessing my body, at the top of the water tower. He was balancing on the railing like a fool; a huge grin spread across his—my—face.

"Or what, Pine Tree? What're you gonna do?! Stuck in the mindscape you can't do anything! And with that journal burnt to a crisp, without being able to communicate to your family, you are trapped. Trapped between worlds, just like me. Forced to be a "ghost" for the rest of eternity. And without a vessel to possess you can't do anything about it." Bill's words made my anger spike, my hatred grew with every syllable, and I needed to do something! But he was right... there was nothing I could do.

And there he stood... laughing like an insane person, standing on the edge of the railing without a care in the world.

"Say goodbye to your future, Pine Tree!" He leaned forwards, arms spread out as he let gravity take over.

"NO!" I screamed and flew down to where he landed, there was so much blood, it pooled from the back of my body's head. I heard Mabel scream... I had never heard her scream so loud before, I wanted to tell her so desperately that I was ok! She slid on her knees next to my body, tears streaming down her face and her screams echoing around me. She stopped and sat frozen as she watched Bill, laughing and twitching, I could almost hear him saying, "Pain is hilarious" as he writhed on the ground, swimming in my blood. I felt sick, oh so sick... but as a ghost nothing happened.

Mabel hadn't said one word, she just wailed and cried and screamed. My body had fallen limp now and Bill was back in the mindscape, no longer needing his "puppet".

"Quite the finale, eh Pine Tree?" He laughed psychotically.

"Mabel... she doesn't even know I'm fine... what did you do!" I screamed and tried to lunge at him, but it was useless, he simply just dodged my blows and lunges like it was nothing.

"Welcome to your home, for eternity. And I get to watch you suffer every moment of it, as you watch your pathetic family go through so much pain... and all you can do is watch. Watch as your sister goes through her miserable life without her twin, as your parents break, and so much more. Enjoy AHAHAHAHAHA!" And with that... he was gone. I felt so broken, anger bubbled up inside me towards him. I wanted so badly to tell Mabel that I was ok, that I was there with her. But I didn't know how.

I floated next to her and watched the EMTs place my body on a stretcher and take me away in an ambulance. Mabel had become silent, tears flowing from her eyes as she sat in the dirt mixed with muddy blood. Her hands were red from holding my head, and she just held them out on her lap in utter shock.

I followed her to the car as she went to the hospital, Grunkle Stan drove and there was a heavy silence. Mabel cried quietly as she stared out the window, Stan had a blank expression, obviously not knowing how to register everything.

In the hospital room they had laid my body on a bed, still in that reverend costume that was now stained with blood with rips here and there. I noticed the fork stab wounds on my arms, the way my bones were at awkward angles, all the bruises from falling down the stairs, and being slapped by my own hands. And of course every injury I had achieved from being thrown off a water tower. Mabel was kneeling at the bedside, my hand in hers as she sobbed. Stan had sat down; his head buried in his hands and his shoulders shaking… this was too much. Every second I watched this scene was like a stab to the heart.

Days passed and I had been keeping an eye on Mabel and my family... it wasn't good. I never once saw Mabel smile, only pretend. Even when Mom and Dad came up, all she did was cry. But now there was no emotion on her face, just a blank expression, I just wish I knew what was going on inside her head.

Tonight she sat on her bed, the lantern the only light in the room; she was flipping through the pages of her scrapbook, reminiscing the old times, the Polaroids of our summer, our adventures, and awkward selfies. And yet... no smile. Not even a hint of one.

"Mabel... I'm so sorry... this is all my fault and I just wish I could tell you how much I miss you! How much I miss your smile... please smile Mabel... for me." I spoke to her, but it still did nothing... for a split second it looked like she could hear me, like a glimmer of hope was in her eyes, but it left just as fast as it had come. And I was yet still a ghost to her.

I had followed Grunkle Stan for a couple of hours...—or days, who knows— once. It was, interesting. I had learned something about our Grunkle. I had followed him to the vending machine... but was confused when he punched in a code, and instead of candy, it opened up to a stairway. I was shocked to think that had been there this whole time and no one knew! But what was he hiding? I decided to see where he was going. He walked down the stairs and into an elevator. It went down three floors and what I saw next was... mind boggling, to say the least. Our Grunkle was up to something, I didn't know what, but it was big. And I mean it was huge! There, right under our noses this whole time, was I giant... triangle. To be honest I didn't know what the heck it was. It was an inverted triangle shape with I huge circle in the center. Whatever it was, Stan wanted to keep it secret... but why? What was it?

He sat down at a desk and slumped in the chair, he hadn't looked too good these past few days, I could tell my "death" was hard for him to contemplate, that everything happening was so confusing. He'd pulled out a glass bottle of some kind of alcohol and poured it into a shot glass... I'd never seen him drink before, and it was unsettling, yeah adults drink, but for some reason this was different. I felt awkward being there and left him alone, still questioning what he was making, or tampering, or whatever, with down there. But questions will come with answers... in time.

Mom and Dad were a whole other story... it was so heart breaking seeing their faces the second they stepped out of the car and Mabel running up to them, there were so many tears. I had actually tried screaming to get their attention, to let them know I was there. But of course that didn't work.

I had watched Mom cry—sob, herself to sleep every night. I watched Dad cry as well... which I had never seen before, he was always the optimist, always the strong one, he never cried. Seeing him do so broke me even more. He had even gotten angry when he was alone, and slammed his fist down on the table all while yelling as loud as possible.

This was torture... this was the most pain I had ever been in and it wasn't even physical. I could tell this was Bill's plan, he did this to me, and he trapped me here to suffer. To watch my family fall apart and to endure every moment of it. For secrets to be revealed and I can't do anything about them. To see walls crumble, and hearts shatter. To scream and never be heard. I. Hate. Bill.

"Well, well, well, well, well..." speak of the devil... my anger boiled inside me when I heard that sickening voice, Bill had appeared out of, seemingly, no where, "Enjoying the show, are we?" He asked sarcastically.

"GRRR BILL!" I screamed and launched myself at him with a clenched fist, ready for a blow to his stupid, one eye. He deflected the punch with a swipe of his hand and I was thrown through a wall. I regained control of my floating form and came back to where he was smugly levitating in a relaxed position, making my anger grow even more, "WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO ME!"

"Because, watching you suffer is hilarious! Remember, I could have killed you and your mental form if I wanted to. Consider yourself lucky!"

"Lucky!? How is THIS, lucky? Being forced to watch my family go through so much pain! You're insane to think of me as lucky!" I argued back with rage dripping off every word. Yes, calling him insane would be, to him, more of a compliment than an insult.

"Of course I'm insane! And you _are_ lucky, most people just die and don't get to watch their family without them, you have the luxury of having your family and knowing all their secrets! What's not to love?" Bill was all too cheery and every word he said made him sound even more psychotic than the last time I saw him. Being trapped in a world with Bill as your only... companion? Associate? Person you are stuck with but hate? That's the one. Being trapped in a world with only Bill as a person you are stuck with, but hate, is torture in of itself. But watching your family suffer through loss and pain at the same time made it a hundred times worse.

"I will defeat you! I will find a way to come back to the real world and Mabel and I will destroy you ONCE AND FOR ALL!" I roared with my fists clenched at either side of me.

"AHAHAHAHAHA! You think you can defeat me? You're way over your head, Pine Tree, to think you could defeat me is hilarious, cute even!" With those last aggravating words, the triangle demon was gone.

"RrrAAAHH... you-you... EVIL-ONE-EYED-SELF-CENTERED-NACHO!" I screamed out into the air, and was yet alone once more.

The next day when the sun was coming up, and a heaviness wafted throughout the old shack, Mom, Dad, Mable, and Stan were bringing down boxes and suitcases out to the car, this was it... they were leaving and I was dead. The boxes had my name scrawled on the sides of them with a black sharpie. I drifted up to the attic, it was empty... just like the day we arrived, just two beds in an empty room, ready for dust to settle down and mold to rot the wood. Mabel came up to grab one last thing, as she turned to leave the room she stopped. She turned to look just one more time, it felt like she was looking straight at me... but that was impossible. She furrowed her brow and forced herself to close the door and walk away.

I found her on the porch, talking with Grunkle Stan, he looked worse than the last time I had checked on him. Or maybe it was just the sunlight and not the dark basement that made him appear different. The hearse drove up; it was a solemn black color, just like all the others out there. Inside was my lifeless form, packed up in a box just like the rest of my things. How sad. But that body was broken beyond repair... even if I did get back into it, it would take a while to recover, and the fact that I had been dead for at least three days. This was it... all hope was lost now. I was now just a memory.

I looked back and found Mabel gone from her spot on the porch, but then saw her sprinting towards Grunkle Stan, and then suddenly halting and looking almost panicked, or shocked? She grabbed Stan by the arm and started tugging him along, but he yanked her to stop and explain what was going on. I listened in; she had found a note... a very specific note from a very specific triangle. This was it! I may still have some hope! She knows I'm not gone now, she knows I'm trapped in the mindscape! Then a memory sparked inside my head... something Bill had said before he jumped... why hadn't I thought of it sooner!

"You can't be heard without a vessel..."

* * *

 **Woopty** **doo! Haha... ok how was that? I honestly have no idea...**

 **Well... i hope you guys liked it...**

 **tell me if you have any ideas for this because i have almost none... thanks! I have a little bit of an idea, but i don't know how many chapters it will take, two, three, idk.**

 **-Neon**


	2. Chapter 2

**Heyo I'm back, I'm actually surprised I finished this chapter at...1:40am... but whatever! I'm happy some of you enjoyed this, I know it's a sad one, but I promise it's not that sad! Unless you like sad... then I'm sorry. Any hoot. Here's to the next chapter. Cheers!**

 **enjoy!**

 **p.s. this chapter is a little shorter than I would have liked but hey... what're ya gonna do?**

* * *

I followed Grunkle Stan into the Shack, leaving my parents outside, more perplexed than ever. My heart was racing and all I could think about was Dipper and if he was still out there or not! we came upon the vending machine, I was—in a word—confused. He punched in a code and it swung open to reveal a secrete stairwell leading to who-knows-where? Trusting Grunkle Stan, I followed him down the dimly lit stairs, a lantern in his hand as we came to an elevator. My heart pumping harder, and adrenaline kicking in, as we filed into the elevator.

"Grunkle Stan... what is this place?" I asked hesitantly as we rode it down and it counted down to three.

"You'll find out soon enough..." he said as we hit the bottom and the doors slid open.

My eyes widened at what I saw, this room was filled with blinking lights, lots of buttons, and computer-y things. My jaw went slack as I continued walking along side Stan.

"Sweet Moses..." I whispered under my breath as I took everything in. My brain was having a hard time processing all of this, to think that this had been hidden under the boring, old shack this whole time was baffling... but to think my own Grunkle was hiding this was so difficult to understand my brain hurt.

We walked into a room, more computer things were in there and a desk with a window above it. I looked out into the next room through the window... there was a giant... thing, in there. I didn't know what it was and my brain and mouth couldn't say the words I wanted to say.

What was Stan working on down here?

Why didn't he tell us before?

Why did he need to keep it hidden?

Were only some of the questions going through my, already scrambled, mind. Stan sat down in a rolling chair and opened up a cubby. That was when my breath hitched in my throat and it felt like my heart stopped... there before my eyes were the other two journals... the journals my brother had been sticking his nose in all summer. The journals that got him to where he is now... but also our way of getting him back—hopefully. I didn't know where to begin, words became a struggle.

Stan stayed oddly silent this whole time, he grabbed a folder labeled simply "3" on it. I had a guess to what it was, but had to see it myself. He turned in his chair to face me, he had an almost guilty look on his face and sighed.

"I'm sorry I had to keep this all from you... and your brother... but I—ugh—I did it to protect you. That night, when you defeated Gideon and showed me the Journal, I copied it all, every page, at least every page m—the author—wrote. Here..." he handed me the file, I thought for a brief moment, then reached for it with shaking hands.

"I understand, Grunkle Stan... I mean I'm kind of going nuts inside my head with all of this, but you kept this all a secret to protect... us. Just like you did with all the supernatural things in Gravity Falls... I mean that didn't really work, but..." a hint of a smile lit up his face, and I could only help but smile too, "thank you, Grunkle Stan, if you hadn't done all this I might have just left for Piedmont with my brother probably still out there."

"Yeah, yeah... now open it, you want him back don't you?" Stan joked to lighten the mood a little bit, it was pretty heavy and the air felt thick... also we were three levels below ground so yeah.

"Yes. Definitely." I proceeded to open up the file that held the lost pages of the Journal. As I flipped through it, reading any pages, thoroughly, that talked about Bill, I came up empty handed. There was nothing in there about getting people back from the mindscape, just warnings and how to go in somebody's mind. I was back to square one... brotherless and hopeless. We even went through the other two journals and still nothing.

I sat defeatedly on the dusty, cold floor and tears stung at my eyes again as my heart sank.

"What if he's really gone, Grunkle Stan?" I whimpered and buried my face in my sweater, then continued to tuck my legs in my sweater as well.

"Hey c'mon... don't think like that. We just got physical proof that there's a chance at getting him back... you can't give up now. Your brother needs you, Mabel. Dipper needs you." Stan said reassuringly, he was right. I couldn't just give up! Heck no! This was Dipper we were talking about!

"You're right... Dipper needs me! I can't give up on him. Dipper would do the same for me! He's my brother. The same person who I battled an army of gnomes with! Who I time-traveled with, who helped me save a merman, who saved your mind from Bill! If we can defeat Bill in your freaky mind, than we sure as heck are gonna defeat him again!" I got out of sweater-town and stood up, and grabbed the file, the note from Bill tightly grasped in my hand, I turned back to Stan and looked him in the eye, "We're gonna get my brother back and take down that evil triangle, even if takes me the rest of time!"

And with that I turned on my heel, no questions asked, and started towards the elevator.

"That's the spirit, kiddo." Grunkle Stan said as he followed me into the elevator.

My mind was set, all feelings of loss were gone, all I felt was determination, I was getting Dipper back. Somehow...

* * *

As I thought over Bill's words I almost didn't see Mabel and Stan rushing into the Mystery Shack, and hearing the confused sounds coming from my parents, who were left in the dark.

I followed Grunkle Stan and Mabel and when they came to the vending machine, I knew exactly where they were going, maybe Stan would reveal what he was working on? He really was a "man of mystery", but the real question was, was he dangerous? I pushed that thought aside and kept following, Mabel's confusion was almost amusing, the way her jaw was kept slack and her eyes wide, true I was the same way when I had been down there the first time. But watching her expressions were entertaining. Although the heaviness between the two was awkward, even as a ghost, the atmosphere was thick.

But when Stan revealed the journals, my jaw dropped as well. He had the journals this whole time!? Why didn't he tell me? Why would he keep that a secret? This was both infuriating and logical at the same time! Sure, I remember him telling us that he kept the weird stuff away from us to keep us safe, but for him to have the other two journals was crazy! But as a ghost, I couldn't confront him about it, I couldn't ask the billions of questions going through my head.

Was he the author of the journals?

Did he know the author?

What the heck was he building in there?

Seriously though, if he had the journals who knows what he was building. It could be a device that makes you all powerful! Or that conjures up bees to do your bidding! Or— who-knows-what, with the journals the possibilities are endless!

But that was besides the point, what was important right now was Mabel and finding a way to stop Bill. Then Grunkle Stan said something I hadn't expected, he'd copied the Journal. That's why he gave it back so soon, he'd made a copy for himself so he wouldn't need it! Lucky he did that though, since Bill burned the real Journal. That still made his stomach turn to think all that research was gone just like that. But there it all was... at least all of the author's writing... mine was dust in the wind.

Disappointment settled in my chest when they found nothing on how to get me back, not even in the other journals. I was back to being helpless, watching the world go by without even noticing me. Mabel felt the same way, I could tell, she'd sent herself to to sweater-town and I'd seen tears bubbling up in her eyes. I drifted down beside her, I listened to her sniffles and sharp intakes of breath, and the words Grunkle Stan spoke. His encouragement worked, Mabel, as she listened, had begun coming out of sweater-town and standing up.

She then began listing off things we'd done together, fighting gnomes, saving mermen, and defeating Bill once! Everything she said encouraged me as well! Then the last thing she said made me want to hug her!

"If we can defeat Bill in your freaky mind, than we sure as heck are gonna defeat him again!We're gonna get my brother back and take down that evil triangle, even if takes me the rest of time!"

"YEAH!" I cheered, even though no one could hear me.

She marched off to the elevator with Stan in tow and I followed suit.

Back in front of the Shack, Mabel ran up to our parents, still looking a little confused, she explained to them:

"Mom. Dad. Unpack your things! We're staying here!" Mabel ordered as she began pulling her stuff out of the car, along with mine.

"W-what, what? Mabel. Mabel, now hold on," Dad grabbed her by the sleeve of her sweater and held her shoulders so she would look at him, "we're going back to Piedmont, Mabel... there's nothing for us here... we have to go." He said solemnly.

"But Dad... Dipper needs us! He's still out there, I know it! But we gotta stay!" Mabel protested and tried to continue on her way but was stopped again.

Dad had kneeled down, rubbing the bridge of his nose, "Mabel... what on earth are you talking about? Have you been getting sleep?" He put a hand to her forehead to check for a fever, classic parenting.

Mabel swiped his hand away, "I feel fine. It's Dipper we should be worrying about!"

"Sweetie... Dipper is gone... I'm sorry to say it but let's face the facts... he isn't coming back," Mom said, choking back tears as she spoke.

"NUTS TO THE FACTS! My brother is out there, in some dimension we can't even see, and I need to get him back! You can go home without me, but I'm not leaving until Dipper is back with me!" Mabel yelled, clearly frustrated with our ignorant parents, and stormed off, her suitcase rolling behind her and a box of my things tucked under her arm. The door slammed behind her, bouncing back a couple of times. Mom and Dad looked worried, Mom had leaned on the car with her hands on her knees.

"She isn't thinking straight... I know there's denial, we're all going through it... but this is just unhealthy." Dad spoke softly, with a heavy sigh he glanced at the hearse, he kept quiet and wrapped an arm around Mom, who was now silently crying.

"I can't... I can't do this... it's too hard." She wept, I couldn't bare seeing them like this, these past few days have been so hard. Through the screaming, the wailing, and the anger... all of this over me and I wasn't even really dead.

I distanced myself from the scene and pondered on Bill's words, if I couldn't be heard without a vessel, then I sure as heck needed to find one... what could I use as a vessel though? And then I saw it... I might regret this but it's worth a shot.

I found Mabel up in the attic, it was almost empty except for my things scattered on her bed, the box on the floor, and her suitcase in a corner. The door was cracked and I snuck into the room. The door creaked open and Mabel's eyes drifted towards the sound.

"AAAAAHHHHHH! BEAR-O! HES ALIVE! HES COME FOR REVENGE!" She screamed at the top of her lungs and begun throwing things at me.

"Gah! Mabel! MABEL! Stop, it's me!" I yelled through the creepy puppet's mouth.

She was backed into the farthest corner of her bed and had run out of things to throw, her eyes widened when she heard my voice coming from Bear-O's. She cupped a hand to her mouth and slowly moved towards me—the floating bear.

"D-Dipper…? Is that really you?" She murmured, I nodded the puppet's head, she gasped and flung herself at me.

As she hugged the puppet I wrapped my other arm around her, it did nothing, but it still felt like a hug. She began to cry, really cry, tears of joy, tears of sadness, all of it.

"Dipper... I'm so, so sorry! I should've known! I should've known Bill was possessing you and helped! I'm so sorry!" She sobbed as she pulled away, and her face was wet with tears.

"Mabel no... you don't have to be sorry! None of this was your fault!"

"Yes! It was my fault! If I hadn't gotten so distracted by a stupid guy and helped you with the laptop, like I promised, none of this would have happened!" She sobbed even harder.

She had a point, but even if she had helped me, Bill probably still would have tricked me, smashed the laptop, and the rest is filled with possibilities.

"I missed you..." she whimpered and wiped her sleeve over her cheek. Those three words made my heart ache.

"I missed you too, Mabel."

A small hint of a smile showed on her face as she continued, "I missed waking up everyday and seeing what new adventures we would go on... your stupid jokes that were always too forced... all of your theories and speculations. I missed Dipper. Life isn't the same without you..."

"Thanks Mabel... and I missed you actually being able to hear me. There were times I would talk to you, but it just felt like I was talking to myself... because I basically was. It's nice to be heard again." I laughed shortly and her smile came back.

"Hehe... you did that?" She giggled, probably picturing me having full blown conversations with myself, or ranting to the air, or something.

"Yep! I had to keep myself sane somehow!" I joked, she had stopped crying and dried the last of her tears and now she just sniffed.

"But... why are you in Bear-O... that's kinda freaky," she asked and fiddled with the puppet's paw. And she was right, it was super creepy, but I needed a vessel.

"You're telling me, I hate this puppet and now my hand is up its butt. I'm gonna be doubly freaked out of this puppet now."

She paused for a second, thinking of something to say, "How did you know how to talk to me?"

"It was something Bill had told me before he... jumped. He said I couldn't be heard without a vessel, I assumed this would work, and it did. But Bill is planning something, you saw in that note you found. Whatever it is, it can't be good. We need to stop him and get my old self back." I explained.

"But how will we do that? There's nothing in the journals that say how to defeat him."

"Just like you said. We've beat him before, and we'll beat him again! Together?" I encouraged and held the puppet's paw out.

She giggled a little but took the paw in her hand, "Together!"

* * *

 **ok yaaaaayyy! They found each other and are in contact! What will happen next...? I don't know... we'll just have to wait and see! If you guys think any of this could have been done better (portraying characters, wording, etc) please tell me, but at least be nice about it, please! Also, if you have any ideas, please shoot them my way, I can't guarantee if I'll take them or not but we'll see! Hope you enjoyed!**

 **-Neon**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey everybody, I know this is a little later than usual, but life got in the way, this past few weeks have been hectic for me. Also writers block. I rewrote chapter 3 because I just really didn't like it, and I'm still not sure about this chapter. But I thinks it's better than last time. Anywho, hope you enjoy!**

* * *

It was at that awkward hour of the night between one-in-the-morning and five, where everything is eerily silent, the air feels crisp, and silence fills the atmosphere. Mabel had fallen asleep hours ago, me being a "ghost" I had no need for sleep, though I wish I could because the boredom was killing me, ironically speaking. It was so quiet I could actually hear Mabel breathing, I let out a sigh as I just hovered above my bed.

A spine chilling laugh echoed throughout the room, I let out a groan as I watched Bill rise up from the floorboards.

"HEYA PINE TREE!" his voice carried through the room, his tone disgustingly cheerful, "I SEE YOU'VE GAINED CONTACT WITH THE OUTSIDE WORLD!"

Trying to ignore him I kept to myself, only giving him a death glare from where I was.

"IGNORE ME ALL YOU WANT, PINE TREE. YOU'RE JUST GONNA HAVE TO ACCEPT THAT THIS WILL BE YOUR HOME FOR ALL **ETERNITY**." His voice suddenly went from high-pitched and chipper, to dark and low on the last word, his form glowing red for a split second.

"You wish! Mabel and I are gonna defeat you, Bill!" I finally spoke up, my words filled with anger. He burst into a strange cackling and wiped a fake tear from his one eye.

"Oh sure! You'll 'defeat me'. THATS ADORABLE!" He continued with his deranged laughter, my words being utterly hilarious to him.

"We've done it before, who's to say we can't do it again?" I floated up from my position, now tense and trying to look stronger than I actually was.

"Listen kid, if you defeated me, I wouldn't be here! Would I?" He pointed out.

He raised a good question though... we haven't really defeated him before, not entirely. To us, it felt like a victory, but to him it was just like a scrape to the knee. My frustration grew, I didn't want to accept that he was right! And absolutely no way would I admit that to HIM!

I balled my fists and growled, "What do you even WANT?" I snapped.

Bill floated around the quiet room, swirling a cane he brought up from thin air, "Just checking up on you, and I must say, I'm impressed!"

"Last time you said that I ended up stuck here." I said flatly.

"You figured out the whole puppet thing sooner than I thought... HAHA good news for me though!" He said gleefully, making me utterly sick. Why was he so happy, this only made my anxiety worse.

"What do you mean?" I said hesitantly, maybe I didn't want the answer? Although with Bill I might not get a direct one.

"Oh nothing... just that every time you talk to your loved ones you slowly kill yourself." He stated nonchalantly, like that sentence was no big deal. My heart began to race and my anxiety bumped up another notch.

"WHAT?" I cried, hoping this time he would explain more, "HOW DOES THAT EVEN MAKE ANY SENSE?"

"WELP! Anywho! I THINK I'LL JUST LET YOU DWELL ON THAT FOR A WHILE! LATER PINE TREE!" And like that he was gone, a faint echo of his stupid laugh lingering in the room. My anger burned inside me, ready to erupt like a volcano. I hated when he left without answering my questions, as if this place wasn't torture enough!

I let out a heavy sigh, mulling over our irritating conversation, if you could even call it that, each word I remember just triggered more anger to surge through me. I glanced back over at Mabel, but instead of her sleeping peacefully, probably dreaming of unicorns or her world when she had eaten Smile Dip, she was twitching and mumbling incoherently, her eyes kept flickering and rolling back into her head, her body moving as if trying to fight off something. My heart sped up and I rushed to her side, I didn't know what to do! I couldn't help her, I couldn't comfort her, to tell her it was alright, to wake her up! I was utterly useless, the only thing I could do was watch and wonder what was going on inside her head. Then a deadly thought came to mind... what if Bill's in there with her? Manipulating her, torturing her... and there was _nothing_ I could do.

* * *

 _I was safe, and warm, I was in a very happy place. Colors surrounded me, colors that sparkled and almost smelled sweet. There were animals everywhere, creatures that were so cute I just wanted to squish them all! The ground was made of gummy candy, the river was chocolate milk, and the rain was pure sugar... I was in paradise! Nothing could take this dreamland away from me, this is where my thoughts were free. I hadn't dreamt so purely in a while, every night I would either not sleep at all, or have flashback dreams—nightmares—of that moment Dipper fell. But here I was safe!_

 _I skipped along a knitted road, the sky was blue and the sun was dancing, literally, and I was happy as could be. But my heart suddenly sank, a pit grew in my stomach and a horrible feeling washed over me. All the soft creatures froze, their faces turned blank. The sky was flooded with a deep red darkness, the animals, with their blank stares, melted into nothing right in front of me. I screeched and began to run! The ground was turning black behind me and seemed to be chasing me, vines latched on to my ankles and yanked me down. I fell on my stomach and clawed at the ground, trying to fight against the vines that dragged me. I was flipped over to my back and my wrists were bound with more of those powerful vines, I tugged at my four-point-restraints trying to get free; but it was useless. The world melted around me and a new one arose, one that was blurred, black and white, myself being the only color. I seemed to be in the middle of the forest. Tall gray trees towered over me, making me feel so small._

 _I continued to wriggle in my restraints, my wrists burning, how could that be in my mind? I took in a sharp gasp when I heard a malicious laugh echo throughout the forest, a laugh I have only ever heard from one specific creature. A laugh that signaled danger._

" _Well, well, well..." Bill Cipher greeted coolly, he appeared in front of me, twirling a crooked cane around._

" _Bill," I hissed, I lurched forward, only to be yanked back by the biting vines._

" _If it isn't Sister Pines, the Shooting Star. I must say, you look good, considering your whole life has been falling apart before you," he floated above me, looking down on me and hovering circles. My fists clenched and I wanted so badly to attack him._

" _WHAT DO YOU WANT, YOU EVIL TRIANGLE?" I yelled, my anger boiling inside me._

" _What? I can't just check up on my friends?" He stopped circling me, the word 'friend' making every muscle in my body tense._

" _We are_ _ **not**_ _friends, nor will we ever BE!" I snapped, the vines on my ankles and wrists grew stronger after I said that, which worried me._

" _Oh yeah! You're right!" He snapped his fingers and a vine tangled around my neck, I gagged and chocked, my hands were freed and I clawed at the vines. My fear intensified and I writhed on the ground, my vision growing spotty, my lungs pleading for air, my neck was in so much pain. I couldn't scream, I couldn't even make a sound. Bill just watched, I could see a twisted pleasure in his eye. The vine started to pull me up, I could feel my body leaving the ground, I was terrified, there was nothing I could do! How was this even happening? Was it really all in my head, or was this somehow real life? Before my feet left the ground and my vision went completely black, Bill snapped his fingers once more and the vine let go, I clambered to the ground, taking a long needed breath of air. It was painful but relieving at the same time, I was still gagging and retching, in a state of uncomfortableness until my body readjusted._

 _I stood on all fours, breathing in and out and rubbing my neck. I glanced up and Bill was right in front of my face. I flinched and scuttled away, still holding my hand to my neck._

" _Listen Shooting Star," his tone of voice suddenly got serious, sending chills throughout my body, "you may think it's a set back for me that you found that note, but you couldn't be more wrong. Now that Pine Tree figured out a way to contact you it'll only get worse from here. Every time he talks to you, he slowly kills himself. I find it a hilarious way to die! Killing yourself to try to save yourself, what are the odds?" He began to chuckle to himself, speaking in his own sick way._

" _W-what do you mean?" I rasped, rubbing my raw throat. He never spoke the whole truth, how could I know he wasn't lying about all this? I needed more information._

* * *

Mable gasped awake after a few minutes of her mumbling, she sat bolt up right and started looking frantically around the room. I grabbed hold of Bear-O so I could communicate with Mabel, hesitantly though as I remembered Bill's words, but did so anyway.

"Mable! Are you alright?" I asked worriedly, she looked to me with wide open eyes, she was rubbing at her throat, which I found odd.

"Dipper, you gotta get out of that thing!" She lunged for the puppet but I got away faster.

"Mabel!" I snapped frustratingly, "just tell me what happened."

She retracted her arm and began to shake, her eyes became glassy and shined in the early light of dawn, "it... it was Bill... he came to me in my dream," _I knew it_ , "Dipper... he told me something. He, he told me that your time is limited, that every minute you spend inside that puppet, talking to me... you slowly are killing yourself."

"Yeah... he told me that too, just before he went into your head... but he didn't explain how."

"He did to me... He said that your body, your real body, is stuck in this 'hibernation' state. That's why it hasn't really been decaying. But whenever you talk to me... you risk your life, that your body exits that state of hibernation and starts to decay faster and catches up with time. Dipper... the more you talk to me, the more likely I'll never see you again..." she choked back a sob and began to cry, it was so hard seeing her like that.

I was shocked at her words... I had been worried about what Bill had said but I never thought about anything like that! This was worse than I thought. Seconds went by but felt like hours, I hadn't said anything.

"That's a risk I'm willing to take." I stated, her lip began to quiver, if her eyes could go any wider, they would.

"No...NO! Dipper I'm not gonna let you _do_ that to yourself!" She argued, trying to grab at the bear again.

"Mabel, if you want to see me again than this is what we'll have to do! We have to come up with a plan somehow, and we can't do that if we're talking to thin air!"

"Dipper, stop thinking about my feelings and use your head! If you do this, you. Will. Die. And I'll end up never seeing you again anyway! I'd rather have you live in the mindscape and not talk to each other, than have you dead and never talk to me ever again!" She cried more, tears running down her face like raindrops.

"But..."

"No Dipper... I'm not risking it. Please... don't do this to me..." Mabel pleaded, her eyes filled with so much emotion it hurt me, it hurt so much to see her this way, to see her in pain that I caused her. This was my sister, I had to do what was right. And she was right, communicating with her was no help at all... but if worse comes to worse... I would die trying to get home.

* * *

Mabel had forced me out of the puppet, stating that "if the need arises, she would allow me to possess the puppet again. As much as I hated it, she was right.

Six-o'clock came slowly, time lagged on and every second was like torture. Mabel had passed the time going through her scrapbook and going through her stuff, all the while talking to me, although it looked like she was acting bonkers and talking to herself. But it was nice. Finally when six came and the sun was at a reasonable place in the sky to go downstairs, she did so; Waddles and I in tow.

She lazily walked down the stairs, and into the kitchen area where she found our parents sitting at the table. They both had fresh cups of coffee and exhausted looks on their faces.

"Mabel, sweetie... can you sit down for a sec?" Our mom started, Mabel got a somewhat worried look on her face, but complied and sat down on the only other seat available, "Your father and I have been talking and since you would like to stay here for a little bit longer... we were thinking about having a memorial service for your brother, here," I could see tears tempting to fall from her eyes as she talked, I could tell this was still a sensitive subject, but now that Mabel knows I'm ok... it's a little hard for her to understand what our parents must be thinking, "that way all your new-found friends can remember him... what do you say?"

Mabel stared, her mouth slightly agape and she was a little lost for words. She kind of glanced around the room, as if looking for me or something to say.

"Umm... could, could I think about it... for just a second...um...please?" She faked a smile and got up from the table, once out of the room she ran upstairs into our room.

"Dipper... I know I said that puppet was a bad idea, but just a second ok? I need to know what you have to say about this!" Mabel talked to the ceiling, I was right next to her but I understood that she couldn't actually see me. I rolled my eyes and took hold of the freaky puppet, "So... what should I do, what should I say? Should I tell them? Would they even understand?" She began frantically, I stopped her there.

"Mabel. Just play it like you know nothing, I'm dead. You're going to have a memorial for me. You're gonna cry whether you like it or not, got it? You can't tell them, as much as I want them to know I'm alive, they wouldn't understand, and I don't want them to get caught up in this whole Bill thing. We have to protect them. So, as far as you know, I'm dead."

"Ok... sorry to hear you're dead, Dip, that must be tough." She mustered a laugh, "alright, that's long enough, out of the bear!" She demanded, and then the bear dropped... signaling I was simply a ghost again.

She sat back down at the table, behind the scenes I had seen her put glitter in her eye, making it appear she was crying, and looked up at our parents.

"So...?" Mom asked, trying to be delicate.

"I think that would be a good idea... I'm just not ready to go back to Piedmont, you know?" I must say, she was good at faking sadness.

"Of course, sweetheart, we understand. We'll put together a little memorial and after that we can go home." Dad said as he grabbed her hands in reassurance.

"Thanks..." Mabel said simply. She rubbed her eyes, probably to get the glitter out, that stuff hurts, then got up from the chair and wandered around the shack some more.

"Ugh, Dipper I wish Mom and Dad didn't have to make things so complicated! I mean, I get why they want to do this and all, but I wish they realized it was pointless! They've probably embalmed your body, no doubt, even though it doesn't have to be because your body is in some weirdo _hibernation,_ how is that gonna affect you when you get back into your body? _Erf_ I wish things weren't so stupid." Mabel paced around the little gift shop, talking aloud to me, on one of her little rants she would get in to occasionally. But yeah... She raised some good questions.

" _It'll all work out, Mabel... don't worry"_ I wished I could tell her.

"Gah... Dipper I don't wanna do this! I just want you back... I want things back to _normal._ " Mabel sighed and sat down on the floor, tucking her head into the sweater she wore and bringing her knees to her chest. I'd lost her to Sweater Town, it was hard to get her out of Sweater Town.

* * *

That night was... awkward. Everyone sat down at the dinner table, except for Stan, who had only come up from the basement to drink, or eat, etc. I hadn't gone down there since yesterday, I could only wonder what he was up to. They all ate in an agonizing silence, not saying a word, the only background noise were crickets chirping outside. Mabel poked and prodded at her food, stabbing it with her knife every now and then. This was painful to watch, not only because no one said a word unless someone asked to pass the salt, but because I missed food. Honestly, I missed food. Yeah, it's kinda nice not having to rely on things to live, but sometimes it sucked.

After only taking a few minuscule bites of her food, Mabel excused herself from the table and rushed upstairs, she closed the door behind her and took in a deep breath, letting it out with a heavy sigh.

"This is _torture_ , no one knows what to say, we're all awkward and I hate it! Dipper... you gotta find a way to get back into your own body! I miss having someone to talk to." Mabel complained and sat on her bed, the mattress creaking beneath her weight.

I wished I could talk to her... but I respected her wish of me not doing anything in fear I'll die. Although that could be a whole bunch of boloney, something Bill came up with so that he could buy himself some time, he could just be messing with out minds! Making us believe that I will die, just another stupid lie to throw us off! Maybe he's scared... maybe he made it all up because he knew we would eventually defeat him? But how could I be sure?

"HEY KID!" Speak of the devil, Bill appeared out of nowhere and scared the heck out of me, I jumped and floated away. He found this entertaining and burst into insane laughter.

"Now what? Want to torture me more, I don't know, by changing my whole family into insects or something?" I said angrily, blowing off steam towards the one being in the whole universe I hated with a passion.

"Yeesh... relax, just want to see if you got my little message." His eye crinkled, as if he was smirking.

"Like I have to tell you, you're probably watching me twenty-four/seven. You're just here because you're bored. And I'm just another one of you're play things that you can mess with all you want, one of things that you torture to bring you some sick sense of joy! Why don't you do us all a favor, and _leave me alone_!" I fumed and my mouth kept speaking words I didn't even have time to think about. I could see I struck some kind of nerve in him though.

"You crack me up! Like I would _ever_ do what you ask! Big changes are about to happen to your small little world, I will soon evoke chaos to your surroundings and you, being the 'hero' you are, will be able to do **nothing**. But you humans sure do have your soft sides, so easy to manipulate, so easy to tempt, you never know what some people will do just for their dumb _siblings_." And with that chilling note, he vanished. That last sentence terrified me... what were his plans? What was this chaos he spoke about?

I thought about it late into the night, after Mabel and our parents had fallen asleep. Bill was trapped in the mindscape, he couldn't escape this dimension. My thoughts were cut off when lights flashed up from beneath the floorboards! Gravity stopped working and objects and Mabel started to rise up from where they were. Fear made me tremble, what was going on? Mabel floated above her bed, still sound asleep. And just as fast as it had come, it left. Leaving me questioning things. I did have one speculation though.

I ghosted through the floors and down to the basement, I froze in shock. There stood Grunkle Stan, before this great machine that he had powered on... lights flashed, the circle in the center of the triangle spun and more lights blared. The spinning cresting it's own force of wind. I didn't know what it could do, or why he had it, but something didn't sit right in my stomach... what was Stan doing? And if this didn't set me off enough, I heard the faintest crazed laugh from a psychotic being.

Whatever this was, whatever Stan built, it made Bill happy... and that meant _chaos_.

* * *

 **this was originally gonna be a 2 part chapter... but I scratched that idea and made it a whole. It may seem a little rushed... but I was just having major writer block on this one, sorry! Please forgive me! Let me know what you guys think and I hope it wasn't too terrible! But things are starting to shake up a bit sooooo... yeah. Let's see what happens next! Until next time!**

 **-Neon**


End file.
